Aerial robotics network management infrastructure

Abstract

An Aerial Robotics Network (ARN) Management Infrastructure (MI) (also referred to as ARNMI) that provides a mechanism for the management of aerobots.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, implemented by a device for managing a plurality of aerobots, comprising:
 collecting, by the device, aircraft data associated with the plurality of aerobots from a telemetry module, the aircraft data comprising at least one of:
 velocity, 
 location, or 
 altitude; 
 
 collecting, by the device, flight information associated with the plurality of aerobots through a common interface module, the common interface module providing a user-machine interface in which a user may manually enter, review, or enter and review flight information, and the flight information comprising at least one of:
 hours flown, 
 faults found, 
 aerobot configuration, 
 standard aircraft logbook information, or 
 maintenance tracking information; 
 
 receiving, by the device, external geospatial data; 
 generating, by the device, geospatial information, the geospatial information based on the external geospatial data; and 
 managing, by the device, the plurality of aerobots based on the geospatial information, the flight information, and the aircraft data, wherein managing the plurality of aerobots includes:
 establishing airspace corridors for aerobot movement, 
 tracking aerobot traffic through the airspace corridors, and 
 providing command and control to a first aerobot of the plurality of aerobots, wherein providing the command and control includes:
 providing a route to the first aerobot. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 maintaining, by the device, registration information associated with the plurality of aerobots, the registration information including at least one unique identifier associated with each of the plurality of aerobots, 
 wherein managing the plurality of aerobots includes using the at least one unique identifier to authorize the providing of the command and control to the first aerobot. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the registration information includes at least one of an Internet Protocol v6 compatible number and a domain name. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining image information for generating a three-dimensional model of at least one route, 
 wherein the three-dimensional model is used to determine whether the at least one route is sufficiently free of obstacles for GPS navigation of the first aerobot. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the external geospatial data includes data points representing information regarding a structure, the data points being associated with vertices associated with geometry of the structure, and wherein the geospatial information includes a set of points derived from the vertices. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the geospatial information is indexed across a tile grid of
 tessellated structures. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein tracking the aerobot traffic through the airspace corridors includes tracking, in real time, at least one aerobot not in the plurality of aerobots using an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sensing at least one of:
 a hazard, 
 a weather condition, 
 a hazard marking, 
 a feature marking, 
 aircraft tracking, 
 deployment of an enroute navigational aid, or 
 deployment of a terminal navigational aid; 
 
 wherein the sensing is used in generating the geospatial information. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , where collecting the aircraft data comprises:
 collecting the aircraft data for use in at least one of:
 offline analysis, 
 data mining, or 
 non real-time applications. 
 
 
     
     
       10. A device, comprising:
 one or more processors to:
 collect aircraft data associated with a plurality of aerobots from a telemetry module, the aircraft data comprising at least one of:
 velocity, 
 location, or 
 altitude; 
 
 collect flight information associated with the plurality of aerobots through a common interface module, the common interface module providing a user-machine interface in which a user may manually enter, review, or enter and review flight information, and the flight information comprising at least one of:
 hours flown, 
 faults found, 
 aerobot configuration, 
 standard aircraft logbook information, or 
 maintenance tracking information; 
 
 receive external geospatial data; 
 generate geospatial information, the geospatial information based on the external geospatial data; and 
 manage the plurality of aerobots based on the geospatial information, the flight information, and the aircraft data, wherein the one or more processors, when managing the plurality of aerobots, are to:
 establish airspace corridors for aerobot movement, 
 track aerobot traffic through the airspace corridors, and 
 provide command and control to a first aerobot of the plurality of aerobots, wherein the one or more processors, when providing the command and control, are to:
 provide a route to the first aerobot. 
 
 
 
 
     
     
       11. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further to:
 maintain registration information associated with the plurality of aerobots, the registration information including at least one unique identifier associated with each of the plurality of aerobots, 
 wherein managing the plurality of aerobots includes using the at least one unique identifier to authorize the providing of the command and control to the first aerobot. 
 
     
     
       12. The device of  claim 11 , wherein the registration information includes at least one of an Internet Protocol v6 compatible number and a domain name. 
     
     
       13. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further to:
 obtain image information for generating a three-dimensional model of at least one route, 
 wherein the three-dimensional model is used to determine whether the at least one route is sufficiently free of obstacles for GPS navigation of the first aerobot. 
 
     
     
       14. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the external geospatial data includes data points representing information regarding a structure, the data points being associated with vertices associated with geometry of the structure, and wherein the geospatial information includes a set of points derived from the vertices. 
     
     
       15. The device of  claim 14 , wherein the geospatial information is indexed across a tile grid of
 tessellated structures. 
 
     
     
       16. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors, when tracking the aerobot traffic, are to track, in real time, at least one aerobot not in the plurality of aerobots using an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. 
     
     
       17. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further to:
 sense at least one of:
 a hazard, 
 a weather condition, 
 a hazard marking, 
 a feature marking, 
 aircraft tracking, 
 deployment of an enroute navigational aid, or 
 deployment of a terminal navigational aid; 
 
 wherein the sensing is used in generating the geospatial information. 
 
     
     
       18. The device of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors, when collecting the aircraft data, are to:
 collect the aircraft data for use in at least one of:
 offline analysis, 
 data mining, or 
 non real-time applications. 
 
 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processes to:
 collect aircraft data associated with a plurality of aerobots from a telemetry module, the aircraft data comprising at least one of:
 velocity, 
 location, or 
 altitude; 
 
 collect flight information associated with the plurality of aerobots through a common interface module, the common interface module providing a user-machine interface in which a user may manually enter, review, or enter and review flight information, and the flight information comprising at least one of:
 hours flown, 
 faults found, 
 aerobot configuration, 
 standard aircraft logbook information, or 
 maintenance tracking information; 
 
 receive external geospatial data; 
 generate geospatial information, the geospatial information based on the external geospatial data; and 
 manage the plurality of aerobots based on the geospatial information, the flight information, and the aircraft data, wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the one or mmore processors to manage the plurality of aerobots, cause the one or more processors to:
 establish airspace corridors for aerobot movement, 
 track aerobot traffic through the airspace corridors, 
 provide command and control to a first aerobot of the plurality of aerobots, wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to provide the command and control, cause the one or more processors to:
 provide a route to the first aerobot. 
 
 
 
     
     
       20. The medium of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
 maintain registration information associated with the plurality of aerobots, the registration information including at least one unique identifier associated with each of the plurality of aerobots,
 wherein the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to manage the plurality of aerobots, cause the one or more processors to use the at least one unique identifier to authorize the providing of the command and control to the first aerobot.